Field
Example embodiments in general relate to an electrical discharge testing system for detecting electrical discharge rate failure in an electrical-based tire defect tester.
Related Art
Any discussion of the related art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such related art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
Throughout the decades of car travel, there have been many new methods and systems for detecting defects quickly and efficiently in a tire. Common systems include the use of a pool of liquid such as water into which the tire may be submerged so that bubbles streaming from holes in the tire may be detected. More modern tire defect detectors have been created which utilize electrical discharges to detect defects in tires.
Such electrical-based tire defect detectors typically use a pair of electrodes which are positioned on either side of a tire to be tested. The tire is rotated while one of the electrodes periodically discharges from a connected power supply such as by using a capacitor and a rectifier. Arcs or sparks between the two electrodes will provide an indication that there is a defect at the position in which the arc or spark occurred. Numerous previous patents covering such tire defect testers are disclosed and incorporated by reference herein.
While these electrical-based tire defect testers have provided clear improvements in the art, they still suffer from defects. Perhaps the most common defect in such tire defect testers is wear on the electrodes in the power supply for such testers. As the electrodes wear from repeated arcing, the spacing between the electrodes increases. With a greater distance between the electrodes, a greater charge is necessary by the power supply before the electrical discharge will be generated at the probe. With greater charge comes a great duration of time between discharges. If the probe is not optimized on rate of discharge, it cannot be guaranteed that all surfaces of the tire being tested are being covered, and defects may be missed.